A few weeks ago, R suggested that I look into The Artist's Way. It's basically a 12-week creativity workshop/experience. I think (and I'm probably speaking out of turn here) that the point is to help you find/foster/facilitate your inner creative self. From what I gather, it looks like many find that their creativity becomes more productive--in the sense that they are producing things grounded in their creativity. It really did sound very up my alley, though it bugged me that R was the one suggesting it. (It bugs me that someone who has been conspicuously absent from my life for 2 years knows me well enough to suggest something that is so obviously right for me.) So, I ordered the book and the workbook and well...they're gathering dust at the moment.

I really do want to do this. I do. And I have to keep telling myself that. See, I'm hung up on the first thing you're supposed to start doing every day. Their called "morning pages." The very thought of them has rendered me unable to read past the introduction of the book.

Morning pages are meant to be a connection with your "artist brain." You get up in the morning and before you do anything else you write 3 pages of whatever, longhand. Totally stream of consciousness writing. Then you put them aside and don't read them for several weeks. I think the book says 6 or 8 weeks in you can start looking at the early ones. They may be full of nothing, or you may spark something that turns into a new piece for you.

It's the "before you do anything else" bit that's getting me. It's also the "longhand" thing that gets me. I have a specific pattern in the morning, a routine. I get up, start the coffee, walk the dog, drink the coffee and swallow some Tylenol Arthritis, because my hands and I don't get along very well in the morning. (My back and I don't either, but I'm not sure that would have an affect on my writing abilities.) Until the Tylenol kicks in, which is aided by the heat in the shower, I couldn't possibly grasp a pen long enough to write three pages.

Just writing that sounds like an excuse in my head. I've got to find a way to make the morning pages work for me. I've been toying with the idea of doing them at work in the mornings. I've been getting there earlier the last couple of weeks, and in my office in quiet for at least half an hour. There's nothing that has to be done during those thirty minutes that can't be done just efficiently a little later in the morning.

Okay, that's what I'll do. I'll make a stop today to buy a pretty binder, some bright paper, and a pretty pen. Because it's all about the tools, right? That's why Emily here is metallic spring green (Emily would, of course, be my laptop).

1. What was your favorite comic strip as a child? Ah..Garfield. Still my favorite one.

2. Which comic strip today most consistently tickles your funny bone?Without fail, Get Fuzzy3. Which Peanuts character is closest to being you?Wow, I’d like to say someone cool, like Snoopy, but I feel like maybe, deep down, I’ve always been Marcy. Quieter, less inclined to get involved, and always liking the slightly dorky guy (Charlie Brown).

4. Some say that comic strips have replaced philosophy as a paying job, so to speak. Does this ring true with you? You know, I think so. Comics these days tend to speak to the human condition—even when we don’t think they do. They give an outlet to the stresses of daily life, and help us to see that sometimes, you really can’t sweat the small stuff.

5. What do you think the appeal is for the really long running comic strips like Blondie, Family Circus, Dennis the Menace as some examples? Hm..simplicity. Even for those of us who are children of the 80s and 90s, reading those make me feel more like a kid. There’s no “thinking humor” it’s just fun.

Bonus question: Which discontinued comic strip would you like to see back in print? The Far Side. Man, I miss those.If you're up for more travel through the funny papers, visit RevGalBlogPals for this week's Friday Five.

It really is. I woke up, to find that The WonderDog had slept through the night, which he hasn't all week. In fact, we've been sitting here half an hour after our morning walk and he's dozed back off. He's seriously catching up after days of not being able to sleep.

More than that, I'm feeling renewed myself. I feel rested and happy today. I'm still not pleased with the things going on in the country, but I realize there's nothing left for me to do right now. I can, however, make plans for my garden in the spring, continue to save money and pay off my bills, and look forward to the Christmas season. This year will be good. And I need to plan ahead for the next. May seem a bit 'head in the sand' to some, but it's what I can function right now.

But, it's also just a beautiful day. It's Thursday, one more day in the work week. I'm heading to our land this weekend, and feeling way beyond content with me right now. It's beautiful today.

I'm excited about election day this year. I'm also rather pensive. Yes, I'm worried.

I know nothing grander, better exercise, better digestion, more positive proof of the past, the triumphant result of faith in human kind, than a well-contested American national election.~~Walt WhitmanI hope that, if you haven't already, you're planning to vote today. I don't care who you vote for. No, that's not true. I do care, I want you to vote the way I did. But I won't disown you for it.

Okay, I'm ready, I think I can actually pull 10 together this morning. It's been a nice out for a few days, it's been quiet in my world for a few days. Both of those are good things.

1. Good friends. You know, those make the world go round sometimes. Particularly, this week, I feel I must point out M. She knows who she is.

2. Catching up with old friends. A good friend from years ago popped back into my life last week. It was nice to sit and catch up with him over the weekend. I hope for many more chances like that.

3. Dads who call just when you need them. Daddy never calls just to shoot the breeze or check on things. We're very close, but I think most of the news he hears about me comes second hand from Madre. Last week, he called just when I needed a daddy. There's no way he could've known, but he did anyway.

4. Commercials that make me giggle. Like the Happy Cows from California. Even when I'm down, those will make me smile like you wouldn't believe. (BTW, I can't make these work in IE7, but they do in Firefox.)

5. Not being able to focus for a week. I'm self-diagnosed A.D.D. Seriously. I don't have that hyperactive bit, but yeah. I can't focus to save my life sometimes. A lot, okay most of the time that's a huge issue at home and at work. The last week, sure it's taken longer to get things done, but I've also got to do some interesting reading and worked up some neat ideas and turns of phrase that made it into my writer's notebook.

6. It feels so odd to put this one down, but...paying attention to the elections this year. I've gotten to have some meaningful conversations with some people, including my dad. He and I made a deal to never discuss politics, because I am historically more socially liberal than he is. And, because being more liberal than some members of my family got me blacklisted once, by his father. We didn't ever want that to become an issue between us. And so, because we're both stubborn, it seemed best to never discuss those things. But, this year, we're right on with each other.

8. Our campus is testing again this week. As much as I hate it for my students, because they really get worn out by all this testing, I like the quiet.9. Curling up with a good book under a blanket. I don't even mind so much that I'm waking up at 4 a.m. when I get to do that.

10. My insomnia. I'm actually thankful for that. Regardless of all the negatives, I love that I get to lie in bed and think, and pray, and daydream. And read sometimes. The best part is that it's in the quiet. I've even bundled up and gone to sit under the stars in the middle of the night. Even in a smallish town like I live in, there's never really any quietness to town, unless a hurricane's just come through and the whole town is without power. But at 2 a.m. under the stars, I can almost pretend the noise away.

I've got to learn to be less pessimistic. Not that I'm horribly so, I don't think, but I know that I am too often.

I talked once about my dad and "wonderful, wonderful" (I'll find that link later.). You know, the basic idea is that my dad is never just "fine" when you ask how he is. He's always "ginger peachy" or "wonderful, wonderful." Of all the people in my life, he's probably the most consistently positive person that I know. It's really pretty awesome, and I hope to be just like him one day.

Anyway, I was thinking about that post again. I reread it recently, and was thinking about how I'm always "pretty good" or just "fine." What a boring way to live.

Then, a few weeks ago, I read an article in a parenting magazine about raising joy-filled kids (to which I cannot find a link. If I do, I'll share it.). I came to two realizations. First, I do an amazing job with The WonderDog. All those little things they suggest to raise a child (um, dog) who is joyful are the things I do for him. One thing stood out, to me and I've been pondering it for weeks.

Get caught up in "wow" moments. Of course, what the writer was suggesting was that you allow yourself to get caught up in your child's wow moments, even if you don't think they're particularly "wow." It'll make them feel good that you think the things that spark them are exciting too. I do this with The WonderDog. He is completely wowed by frogs, lizards, and the sprinklers here at our apartment complex. So, we take time to go play with them. We've been on frog hunts more than one evening, actually managed to catch our quarry even.

But, I got to thinking, positive people let themselves get caught up in wow moments. Negative or pessimistic people do not. I rarely let myself get carried away with wow things. I always tell myself I don't have time. Lately, though, I've been on the look out for them, in the back of my mind. I let myself be taken over with the sheer joy of just something pretty or word play or whatever.

I told The Man about this over lunch in New Orleans a week ago. I'm sure he thought I was nutty--I was going nutty over the sauce on the hot wings at Pat O'Brien's. It was AMAZING. I can still taste it. I think I actually moaned at one point. After one look from him that had tones of "what the hell is going on over there?" in it, I felt I'd better tell him that I'm restructuring my outlook.

So, I explained. I explained that I'm tired of not absolutely loving my life. Okay, so there are aspects of it I'm not ever going to like (like being alone), but that doesn't mean I shouldn't let myself be happy and excited about all the wonderful things in it.

And so, I'm trying. This last week was rough. Very rough. But, it was made easier by allowing The WonderDog to lead on our walks, so I could see what captured him. You can't tell me dogs don't have imaginations. He's all over the place when we walk. And just like a child, he plays with the thin air. There's a story line going on in his head that he gets caught up in. When he gets caught playing with the characters, he gets this sheepish look on his face. I can tell he's a little embarassed that he got caught fighting with imaginary foes, but he'd really rather get back to the fun.

While it wouldn't be strictly appropriate for me to get caught up in the story with him (how exactly would I explain that should someone ask what I'm doing?), that doesn't mean I can't allow myself to get caught up in a day dream now and again.

Yesterday, I skipped out on church. I should've gone, I know I should've. I needed some quiet, though. Needed to be still, and I wouldn't have done that going to church. So, I spent some extra time on the couch, and when it had warmed a little, I moved outside. I took a book, my old favorite To Kill a Mockingbird. The WonderDog alternated between the sunny spot on the patio and my lap. I sipped tea, first iced tea, then chamomile. I just loved the day. A little lizard sunned himself on the rail and didn't care that I was staring at him, or that I held up The WonderDog to see him.

There were no big wows yesterday, but there were some little ones. Like The WonderDog just sniffing the lizard and not freakin' completely out because OMG MOM THERE'S A LIZARD, THERE'S A LIZARD!!!! Or, dozing off a little in the sun. And the fact that my complex, which is NEVER silent during the day, was peaceful and quiet all day long.

It was a good day. I came in just after sunset and settled in with a cup of cocoa and my needlepoint. The small dog snuggled in under the afghan, effectively becoming my personal space heater. We watched our shows, then migrated to the bed.

I started the new diet this week. It's a mix between higher protein and the SlimFast plan. Totally mixed up enough to be obviously for me. My only problem seems to be that I'm not making it from meal to meal. I do what I'm supposed to, but find that the snacks aren't filling enough. But it's getting better. I guess it was just trying to adjust to the lower calorie counts.

This was a really rough week. Really rough. And I don't mean on the diet front. I'm dealing with something that shook me. It may not have been the best time to start a diet, since one of my mechanisms for dealing with being upset is eating. But then again, maybe it is the best time.